Improvement in lamp-extinguishers



L. W. SWEM. LampExtinguisher No. 201,570. Patented Mar6h19,1s7s.

INVENTOR Z7. 77- fiwc 217/, I

ATTORNEYS N.PEVTERS, FHOTQ-LITHGGRAPNER, WASHINGTON- DC.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE:

LAWRENCE W. SWEM, OF WEST LIBERTY, IOWA.

- IMPROVEMENT IN LAMP-EXTINGUISHERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 201,570, dated March 19,1878, application filed February 11, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LAWRENCE W. SWEM, of West Liberty, in the county of Muscatine, and in the State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lamp- Extinguishers and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangement of an extinguishing device to be used with any ordinary wicktube, and operated bymeans of the wick, as will be hereinafter set forth.

In order that those skilled in the art may make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawing, which is a perspective, and which forms a part of this specification, A represents the base of an ordinary lamp-burner, and B the usual wick-tube.

The wick is operated, as usual, by means of a spur-wheel connected to a finger and thumb rod. Upon the opposite side of the wick-tube is cut a small slot, and in this slot works a spur-wheel, c. This wheel is placed and works loosely upon a small rod, d, the two ends of which are secured to the wick-tube.

a represents the extinguisher, which consists of a sm all'metal plate.- This plate is connected to the wheel 6 by means of an arm, which is just long enough to bring the plate on top of the wick-tube when turned up.

To operate this extin guisher, it will readily be seen that as the teeth of the wheel 6 cut into the wick it will only be necessary to turn the wick down in the tube. The movementof the wick causes the wheel 6 to turn and the extinguisher a to fly up and cover the mouth of the wick-orifice in the tube. The wick may be raised to any desired height without being materially interfered with by the spur-wheel c.

This device may easily be attached to any of the lamps in common use by a very slight alteration of the wick-tube.

I am aware that it is not new to attach a lamp-extinguisher to the wick-raisin g apparatus, and thus operate the two together but I am not aware that a lamp-extinguisher has heretofore ever been made independent of the wick-raising mechanism, and simply operated by the movement of the wick alone.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, with awick-tube, of a spurwheel with extinguisher attached, independent of and entirely disconnected from the wick-raising mechanism, said wheel passing through a slot in thetube, and operated by the downward action of the wick to extinguish the light, substantially as herein set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of January, 1878.

LAWRENCE WILSON SWEM.

Witnesses J. M. MASON, WILLIAM WALKER. 

